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Sunday, December 12, 2010

Gluten-free Pie Crust Recipe

I have found that gluten-free crusts aren't too difficult. What helps to make them easy is, ironically, their lack of gluten.

Wheat-based pie crusts are very finicky. They have to be rolled out correctly the first time or the gluten is developed and the crust becomes tough. GF crusts don't have this issue.

What makes gluten-free crusts tricky is that they tend to crumble and break apart. However, you can try rolling them out as many times as you like. If mine doesn't roll out correctly on the first go I just fold it over onto itself and roll it out again. You can do this many times for a really flaky, layered pastry. Or, if all else fails, you can just press it into the pan.

The hardest part of making pie crusts for me is the timing and the temperature of the ingredients. You have to keep the bowl, the ingredients, and the blade cold if you don't want to have your dough turn out like this disaster:

Don't.

There is a lot of waiting and refrigerating to do so be sure to plan ahead. I adapted this recipe from the Joy of Cooking, a very good resource for pastry making.

Continue to cut the fat into the flour until it resembles coarse crumbs with some pea-sized pieces. Add:

1/3 cup ice-cold water

Gently cut the liquid into the flour and butter until it looks evenly distributed and small balls begin to form. Press the balls of dough together gently. If they stick together, you have added enough water.

If they don't, add 1-2 more tablespoons ice-cold water and repeat as necessary. Divide the dough in half, make two big patties with it, tightly wrap it and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to several days. Half of the recipe will be the bottom of the pie crust. If you don't need a top crust you can freeze the other half.

Remove from the refrigerator and allow the dough to warm up enough to be pliable like play-dough. Lightly flour the surface and roll it out between two sheets of parchment paper.

If you are going to use the crust for a liquid filling you will need to cook it first. Carefully place it in the pie pan and press the edges into something decorative or remotely pie-like. Patch any gaps with extra dough.

Refrigerate the crust for at least 30 minutes. If you have a relatively dry filling such as apple pie, you can fill and cook the crust according to the pie recipe. If you have a very wet pie filling such as a lemon custard, you will have to cook the crust before adding the filling. Cover the crust with tin foil and weight it with uncooked rice or beans. Cook in a 400-degree oven for 20 minutes. Remove the tin foil and weights, then prick the crust all over with a fork and bake for another 5 minutes. If you are going to fill the crust with something uncooked and very wet, glaze the crust with egg yolk and put it back in the oven for one minute. Then fill the pie and cook as needed for the filling.